LookOut Archive OLD

Mocrep Presents:
Simple Heart
Friday, November 22 – Saturday, November 23
$15
This evening of three short devised pieces showcases Chicago-based performance collective Mocrep’s creative range. They’ll be quick and dirty, they’ll be short and sweet, they’re all brand new, and they’ll incorporate Mocrep’s signature combination of music, theatre, performance art, and new media.

Genesis Presents:
and you wanna go forever
Conceived & Created by Amanda Dunne Acevedo & Lindsey Barlag Thornton
Thursday, December 5 - Sunday, December 8
$30 General Admission; $15 Student/Industry
As children we imagine adulthood will set us free; as adults we long for the freedom of childhood. Genesis’s new work, and you wanna go forever, digs into the messiness, loneliness, and wonder of our younger years through ridiculous reenactments, earnest recitations, ghostly conjurings, wild dance parties, and our favorite childhood snacks.

The Seldoms Presents:
Exit Disclaimer: Science & Fiction Ahead
Thursday, December 12 – Sunday, December 15
$35 General Admission; $15 Student/Senior/Active Military
Exit Disclaimer: Science & Fiction Ahead is a dance theater work that surveys the divisive national argument about climate change, and divergent positions from outright denial and indifference to innovation and urgency. The Seldoms, a dance company with a reputation for tackling hot-button issues, brings humor, humanity and their signature “brainy, brawny movement” (Chicago Tribune) to this pressing subject.

STARTING BEFORE YOU’RE READY…
VIRTUE (Po’Chop and Hijo Prodigo)
Friday, December 20 – Saturday, December 21
$25
STARTING BEFORE YOU’RE READY... is an improvised sonic and movement performance that explores spirituality, personal mythology, rave, storytelling, ritual and release. Merging practices, dj/sound artist Hijo Prodigo and dance artist Po’Chop join forces as VIRTUE to delve into how one’s art practice can serve as a method to both ground and protect.

aMoratorium
Created by J'Sun Howard
Friday, January 3 – Saturday, January 4
$20
Charles Wilbert White (1918-1979) was one of the preeminent artists to emerge during the city’s Black Renaissance of the 1930s and 1940s. A passionate mural and easel painter and superbly gifted draftsman, White powerfully interpreted African American history, culture, and lives in striking works that transcend racial categorization. First commissioned by the Art Institute of Chicago to respond to the Charles Wilbert White Retrospective, aMoratorium explores black male identity, visibility, temporality and its absence, focusing on death as it relates to the Black church and Black spiritual traditions.

Aura CuriAtlas Presents:
Dream Logic & The Fool and The World
Thursday, January 9 – Saturday, January 11 
$25
In their signature style blending acrobatics, dance, and theatrical storytelling, Aura CuriAtlas Physical Theatre performs selections from their DREAM LOGIC repertoire, followed by the Chicago/Midwest premiere of their newest work, The Fool and The World. DREAM LOGIC is a curious collection of magical stories that invite the audience to accompany each quirky character on an exciting journey. The Fool and The World is inspired by the 22 Major Arcana cards of a Tarot deck and is performed to music by Sophia Serghi. The trio of performers takes on the characters and situations depicted in the cards, bringing them to life through acrobatics and dance.

Spektral Quartet, Lisa R. Coons and Mark DeChiazza Present:
The Space Between
Friday, January 17 – Saturday, January 18
$30
The Space Between finds the GRAMMY-nominated Spektral Quartet venturing into uncharted territory: a space in which not only their sound, but their bodies and voices interact. Moments of tenderness, solitude, conflict, virtuosity, and discovery abound in this theatrical work – and born from these physical gestures, the sonic landscape spans from the crunch of pure noise to the rapture of ethereal beauty. Composed by Lisa R. Coons and choreographed and directed by Mark DeChiazza, The Space Between unites three of classical music's most intrepid risk-takers in a bold presentation unlike anything string quartet fans have encountered.

Family Reunion
Directed by Nora Sharp with the Nor Performance Crew
Friday, January 24 – Saturday, January 25
$20
An improvisation of movement, conversation, soundtrack, and live video documentation, Family Reunion is a space for queer and gender expansive people to activate their own agency and amplify each other's, opening to difference as much as solidarity and bringing all their histories, skills, and specificities along for the ride. Developed from a process of dancing and hanging out together, Family Reunion sets up circumstances for people to get invested in each other and stretch the present moment into a future worth working toward. Family Reunion feels like a mashup of a home video, a family band rehearsal, a portrait painting come to life, and the break room out back of your favorite bar in a not-too-distant queertopia.

Get Out Alive
Written & Performed by Nikki Lynette; Directed by Roger Ellis
Thursday, January 30 – Sunday, February 2
$20
Get Out Alive is a new autobiographical musical by independent artist Nikki Lynette. Using storytelling, song, movement, visual media and a live DJ, Nikki’s offbeat approach to sharing her personal mental health journey shows that even when life leads us to a bad place, we can always make it out alive.

The LookOut team is always interested in seeing new work and meeting artists; inquiries and invitations to see work are welcome and can be directed to lookout@steppenwolf.org. As a multidisciplinary performance series, we are primarily interested in connecting with Chicago-based artists who have an existing body of presentable work. We are particularly interested in offering a platform to artists representing historically marginalized communities and programming work that incorporates diversity across genre, form, and perspective. Please note that we do not accept unsolicited full-length scripts.